I always wait until the final game of the NBA season is in the books before handing in my postseason awards ballot, and the reason is twofold: If the deadline is not until Thursday afternoon, what’s the hurry? (This is how journalists work when it comes to deadlines. Most of us, anyway.) The second is because you always want to wait and see if something happens on the final night of the season to change either your ballot or your

Congratulations to the Mavericks and Rockets; condolences to the Jazz. Last night Dallas won in Utah to clinch a playoff spot, while Houston regained control of their own postseason destiny by thumping the Timberwolves. [Read more…]

It’s that time again.
We’ve come to the end of another unforgettable season of the Most Improved Player Rankings, and like John Kasich, I’ve already made a pact with myself that I’m not going to cry, no matter what happens.
It’s been a great season in this column space. We’ve written classic poetry, made fun of Kobe Bryant, checked in with presidential candidates, wondered if Steph Curry is really just an elaborate Old Spice commercial, kicked LeBron while he’s down, and quietly made

With just 10 days left in the NBA regular season, there’s still a lot to be determined and decided. Records can be broken, playoff fates will be sealed and the season will be mercifully be over for several hopeless teams around the league.
With the regular season reaching its last days, we give you the 10 most important questions that needs to be answered before the postseason begins. It’s going to be YUGE.
[Read more…]

Loud people may not understand this column.
But as Rocky Balboa once pontificated, there is such a thing as “the disease of being shy.”
It’s a tough thing, really.
You can’t easily overcome shyness, and it doesn’t really go away over time. Shy people don’t always get everything they deserve, because non-shy people often mistake their shyness for docility or indifference.
In our extrovert-dominant, squeaky-wheel-gets-the-grease society, being quiet can hurt you.
You don’t see a ton of shy people winning Academy Awards, or running for President,

Kawhi Leonard has been one of the best all-around players in the league this season and if it wasn’t for a certain Baby-faced Assassin in Golden State, he might have been the favorite to win the MVP award.
After another home victory against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, the San Antonio Spurs are 60-11 on the season and a league best 36-0 at home. Leonard starred in the game with 32 points, eight rebounds, a steal and a block before leaving

Two great NBA teams are unbeaten at home and the Spurs are determined to keep it that way in the best game of the season. The Warriors won their only previous meeting by 30, with Stephen Curry $10300 scoring 37 points in just 28 minutes. Kawhi Leonard $8300 and LaMarcus Aldridge $7300 will be out for revenge. [Read more…]

The two aging giants came together at center court, a herd of national TV cameras surrounding them like those crazy, suicidal fish that swim alongside sharks and somehow get away with it. (Nature is weird, man).
They embraced, in that bro-hug type of way players do, and shared a few words of mutual respect before going their separate ways, Kobe Bryant toward the ruthlessly dimming twilight of his career and LeBron James out of the visitor’s locker room at Staples Center,